ANSON COUNTY, N.C. — A state agency was investigating an earlier incident at the Darling Ingredient plant before a deadly explosion killed Joseph Mauldin Thursday night.
The North Carolina Department of Labor said in December 2022 it opened an inspection after an employee reportedly fell 10 feet from a machine inside the plant.
PAST COVERAGE:
- Employee dies after explosion at Anson County plant, officials say
- Plant explosion victim said it was a ‘matter of time’ before someone got hurt, friend says
The department said it issued two serious citations -- one for fall protection and the other for aerial lift training.
Darling Ingredient paid $20,000 in penalties.
The Department of Labor said it got three complaints about the plant from 2021 through 2023 and said the company “responded appropriately.”
Two of those complaints were filed when the plant was owned by another company called Valley Proteins.
Channel 9 also learned that in 2020, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Darling Ingredients $75,000 for a plant explosion that killed two workers in Mississippi.
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